Author: Norm Frauenheim
Date: January 1, 1993 Publication: Arizona Republic
Caption= On the go: An appearance in Thursday's Sunkist Fiesta Bowl Parade was a mere gust in the whirlwind life of ice skater Kristi Yamaguchi.
A convertible was running, waiting for Fiesta Bowl parade grand marshal Kristi Yamaguchi as she autographed scrapbooks, magazine covers, ice skates, T-shirts and a soggy piece of confetti between questions about modeling, theater, fashion, the Olympics, politicians and boyfriends.
Life has been a whirlwind for Yamaguchi since she won a figure-skating gold medal in February at the 1992 Winter Olympics.
''Constant motion,'' Yamaguchi said Thursday before she led the parade down Central Avenue. ''I'm always on the move. I'm hardly in one place long enough to unpack a suitcase. I'm not sure that's what I expected. It's tiring. But it's fun.''
Yamaguchi, 21, is suddenly a celebrity. If you don't see her leading a parade, you can find her on Arsenio Hall's show, or in Woman's Wear Daily, or at the White House with President Bush.
Yamaguchi is at the supermarket, too, on boxes of Special K, a cereal that competes with a brand endorsed by everybody's All-Star pitchman, Michael Jordan. ''She's matured a lot,'' her mother, Carole, said. ''Before, everything was pretty well regimented.''
The old regimen is gone, in part because advertising firms fell in love with Yamaguchi, who is traveling on a professional skating tour that will stop at America West Arena on Jan. 10 with ''Stars On Ice.'' She won't be in town a week later, however, to compete in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
Yamaguchi, in advertising parlance, has a high ''Q rating,'' a yardstick used in Hollywood and on Madison Avenue to measure popularity. In a survey two months ago to determine the Woman of the Year by the National Coalition of Girls Schools, she finished behind only Barbara Bush. She finished ahead of Mother Theresa.
It's no surprise that endorsements followed.
She was featured as a model in a six-page photo spread by Woman's Wear Daily. At 4 feet 11 inches, she doesn't resemble those tall, angular models favored by the fashion business.
''For someone in figure skating and being the size that I am, I never expected to be in fashion ads or anything,'' she said. ''It's a tough job, though. It's a lot harder than I expected. The hours are long. And you have to put on a certain expression all day.''
She's also national spokeswoman for the American Lung Association's Christmas Seals. She presented the first Christmas Seal to President Bush four weeks ago in the Oval Office.
''That work has been special to me,'' said Yamaguchi, whose grandfather died of lung cancer three years ago. ''It's something I really wanted to do. It's a cause I believe in.''
And there are her endorsements for a contact-lens line. These days, the dark-eyed girl of the 1992 Games sometimes has green eyes. Or is that blue? She says she uses the lens to match her costumes in pro skating's theatrical productions.
''Sometimes,'' she said, ''I look in the mirror and think, 'Who's that?' ''
As questions go, Yamaguchi faces a difficult one: Should she reapply for reinstatement to the amateur ranks on April 1 with the intention of defending her figure-skating title in the 1994 Olympics at Lillehammer, Sweden? She could lose, and there are questions about whether a second gold medal could do much more for her blue-chip marketability.
As a pro, she's enjoyed immediate success. Over the summer, she completed a 42-day exhibition tour for which she reportedly earned $500,000. She won the Professional Challenge of Champions on Dec. 18 at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. That victory was worth $40,000. She also won her pro debut a month ago in the World Professional Figure Skating Championships in Washington, D.C., with a score of 99.9 out of 100.
There's room, she said, for improvement.
''This kind of skating is really a lot of fun,'' said Yamaguchi, a dentist's daughter from Fremont, Calif., and the first U.S. woman to win gold in figure skating since Dorothy Hamill in 1976. ''You can be more creative. It's really interesting.''
But Yamaguchi's identity is still tied to the Olympics. She wore her U.S. team uniform and gold medal in Thursday's parade. In February or March, she said, she'll decide on her possible return to the Olympic rink.
''Until then, there are lot of things I want to do first,'' she said as she climbed into the back of the convertible for her first ride as a parade grand marshal.
Entire Text Copyright (c) 1993 Phoenix Newspapers Inc.
(It's interesting to note that her "Q" ratings are as high this year as they were in 1993 J )
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